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Image Credits: DoorDash / file photo

DoorDash is facing a lawsuit from San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin for “illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors,” Boudin tweeted today. In the complaint, Boudin argues DoorDash misclassified its workers and in doing so, engages in unfair labor practices.

“Misclassifying workers deprives them of the labor law safeguards to which they are entitled, denying workers minimum wage and overtime pay, unemployment insurance and protection from discrimination, among other things,” Boudin said in a press release. “[…] Now, more than ever, with the COVID pandemic, we must protect our workers, especially those essential workers who are delivering food to us each and every day.”

In a statement to TechCrunch, DoorDash pointed to how it has supported its workers throughout the pandemic by providing them with safety equipment, telemedicine and more.

“Today’s action seeks to disrupt the essential services Dashers provide, stripping hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, parents, retirees and other Californians of valuable work opportunities, depriving local restaurants of desperately needed revenue, and making it more difficult for consumers to receive prepared food, groceries, and other essentials safely and reliably,” DoorDash global head of Public Policy Max Rettig said in a statement. “We will fight to continue providing Dashers the flexible earning opportunities they say they want in these challenging times.”

This suit comes as gig worker rights groups have urged companies like DoorDash, Uber, Lyft and Instacart to abide by AB 5. AB 5, which went into law earlier this year, outlines what type of worker can and cannot be classified as an independent contractor.

The law codifies the ruling established in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v Superior Court of Los Angeles. In that case, the court applied the ABC test and decided Dynamex wrongfully classified its workers as independent contractors.

According to the ABC test, in order for a hiring entity to legally classify a worker as an independent contractor, it must prove the worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity, performs work outside the scope of the entity’s business and is regularly engaged in work of some independently established trade or other similar business. In the suit, Boudin describes how DoorDash does not meet the standards put forth by the ABC test.

“DoorDash’s misclassification of its Dashers was no mistake, but instead a calculated decision made to reduce the costs of doing business at the expense of the very workers providing the company’s core service of delivery: the delivery of merchandise from merchants to customer,” the suit states.

The suit seeks for DoorDash to stop classifying its workers as independent contractors and be fined up to $2,500 for each violation, as well as up to $2,500 for each violation against a senior citizen or disabled person.

DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Postmates and Instacart are funding a ballot measure that would seek to make it legal for them to classify workers as independent contractors. Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft are facing a misclassification lawsuit from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with city attorneys from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

That suit argues Uber and Lyft are depriving workers of the right to minimum wage, overtime, access to paid sick leave, disability insurance and unemployment insurance. The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of San Francisco, seeks $2,500 in penalties for each violation, possibly per driver, under the California Unfair Competition Law, and another $2,500 for violations against senior citizens or people with disabilities.

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San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin today filed an unfair business practices action against food delivery service outfit DoorDash — which has persistently classified its workers as independent contractors and not employees, in the face of California law. 

“I assure you this is just the first step among many to fight for worker safety and equal enforcement of the law,” said Boudin at today’s virtual press conference. This action will be led by Assistant District Attorney Scott Stillman’s Economic Crimes Against Workers Unit — “and I did not bring ADA Stillman into the office to file one lawsuit,” Boudin continued.

Messages for DoorDash were not returned as of press time. 

Today’s action was filed under section 17200 of the state Business and Professions Code, which applies to “any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act.” Either a DA or a City Attorney can take action under this code — and, in fact, City Attorney Dennis Herrera in May joined colleagues in Los Angeles and San Diego in filing a suit against Uber and Lyft for allegedly miscategorizing their workers.  

Under the California Supreme Court’s “Dynamex” decision from April 2018, a three-point test was established to determine whether workers should be classified as employees or independent contractors. 

No reasonable interpretation of that ruling could lead to determining Doordash workers — or, for that matter, Uber and Lyft drivers, or many others — as anything but employees. 

News broke in April 2019 that DoorDash was applying tips given to its workers to apply to their base wages instead of serving as a gratuity — leading to a complaint being filed against the company with the city’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement.  

In September 2019, the “Dynamex” decision was essentially codified as law under AB5, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego). 

“When you think about theft, you don’t often think about wage theft,” said Gonzalez, who attended today’s virtual presser. “If an employee stole from their boss, they’d go to jail. But employers steal from workers, in large amounts, every day.” 

By misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees, companies can shirk on paying minimum wage, providing mandated breaks, and providing healthcare or sick days. Workers in such conditions are subsidized by the social safety net — which is, in turn, subsidized by taxpayers and law-abiding companies. 

“DoorDash has long been an exploitative employer,” UC Hastings labor law professor Veena Dubal told Mission Local. “Like Uber, the company’s business model is based on the fiction that their workers are independent contractors. This means that the people whose labor has created the company’s sky-high valuation do not have access to a wage floor, to workers’ compensation if they are injured, or to unemployment insurance if they are laid off through no fault of their own.”  

During the ongoing pandemic, Dubal continued, these workers have been further deemed “essential,” and have been “risking their lives to get food from restaurants to families in lockdown.”

“DoorDash has been vigorously fighting claims of employment by their delivery drivers,” said Dubal. “This lawsuit today — brought by the district attorney of San Francisco — puts the weight of the state behind these claims.”

DoorDash Complaint by Joe Eskenazi on Scribd

Update, 2:20 p.m.: A statement from Max Rettig, DoorDash Global Head of Public Policy:

Now more than ever, Californians from all walks of life look to DoorDash for flexible earnings opportunities, working on average a few hours per week. Throughout the pandemic, DoorDash has supported Dashers on and off the road with free safety equipment, telemedicine, earnings replacement, and more. Today’s action seeks to disrupt the essential services Dashers provide, stripping hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, parents, retirees and other Californians of valuable work opportunities, depriving local restaurants of desperately needed revenue, and making it more difficult for consumers to receive prepared food, groceries, and other essentials safely and reliably. We will fight to continue providing Dashers the flexible earning opportunities they say they want in these challenging times.

If you want to keep us employed — and have not already done so — please support us now.

The post San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin sues DoorDash for ‘unlawful misclassification’ of staff as impartial contractors appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

In advance of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC), San Francisco is putting up black fence barricades around a special security zone. As some believe, the wall is to prevent protesters from approaching Xi Jinping’s motorcade, but the real purpose is to hide the city’s out-of-control squalor.

In recent years, San Francisco has become an open-air latrine, with maps marking out areas with heavy accumulation. This took place on the watch of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who commissioned $400,000 for a study claiming the town was nearly spotless. Nuru, a crony of former Mayor Willie Brown, is now in prison on corruption charges, but the squalor carries on.

California’s Proposition 47 allows criminals to steal nearly $1,000 without facing felony charges. Since the measure passed in 2014, car break-ins have been on the rise. This year, they hit 15,000 by September, and, in most cases, police never make an arrest.

The city’s Tenderloin district has become an open-air drug market, with needles, feces, and bullet casings strewn about. On sale are meth and fentanyl, the synthetic opioid many times stronger than heroin. This goes on near Union Square and the shopping district.

“Downtown [San Francisco], once beautiful and thriving,” tweeted Elon Musk earlier this year, is “now a derelict zombie apocalypse.”

“[B]efore this APEC summit was even on the horizon, city officials essentially refused to lift a finger,” notes San Francisco resident and commentator Richie Greenberg.

With APEC in town, Gov. Gavin Newson and Mayor London Breed are deploying “high-powered spray guns to suds up the sidewalks, scrub down the BART [Bay Area Rapid Transit] trains and make the APEC security zone shine,” explains Greenberg, who compares it to the Potemkin villages used to deceive Russian royalty. This time, it’s “clean for Xi, but not for thee,” and, when APEC wraps, it will be back to drugs, tents, and squalor.

San Franciscans have a right to wonder why the city can’t be cleaned up for the residents, businesses, and tourists. California’s strategy for the homeless is a big part of the problem.

The state’s “Housing First” policy aims “to construct or acquire a permanent home for every person experiencing homelessness, often at taxpayer expense,” explains Lawrence J. McQuillan. This sounds good but defies state realities.

The number of homeless is growing, and, for every person housed, “up to four more people become newly homeless.” California is also “the second most expensive state to build housing, behind only Hawaii,” and moving takes five years or more. In San Francisco, one “affordable” housing unit averages $750,000, but costs can rise to $1.2 million.

From 2018 through 2022, California spent $17.5 billion on programs compliant with Housing First, to no avail. Newsom and city officials willfully ignore different approaches already proven to work.

High-tech shelter tents, like those used by the military, can provide living for hundreds of people. The tents are “scalable to fit” local needs, “safer and more humane than street life,” and closer to providers who can deal with root causes of homelessness. (For further reading, see “Beyond Homeless: Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes, Transformative Solutions.” Governors and mayors across the country can also check out the holistic, integrated approach that is working well in San Antonio.)

In San Francisco, meanwhile, people should not be fooled by the APEC emergency measures. “Clean for Xi” needs to become “clean for you and me” moving forward. If Newsom and Breed continue to shun proven, reality-based measures, San Francisco will remain a theme park for human misery.

The post San Francisco Builds a Wall for China: Information: The Impartial Institute appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Ellen Mattesi with her 3-D creation, “Evil Clown,” on Montford Avenue. (Photo by Mary Ann Hogan)

The Urban Dictionary defines Mill Valley as “a city in Marin County, California that was the basis for the South Park episode ‘SmugAlert!’ The people … are generally smug entitled hermits who live in tiny 837 sq ft shacks that they paid $1.2 million for.”

The “generally smug” people tend to make everyone else grumpy. Or so the story goes. If only life here were that simple. As a dinner host said recently: “I get grumpy about people who get grumpy over what’s happened to Mill Valley.”

Just look around and you may find an old-fashioned village with a small-town ethos and a big-hearted soul. Here’s a potpourri of Real Mill Valley:

Frightfully good

At the bend in the road where Molino Avenue T-bones with Montford, you’ll find artist and designer Ellen Mattesi’s Halloween Valentine to the world. For the past eight years, Mattesi, a “fantasy environment creator,” has adorned her front yard with elaborate 3-D bodies, torso-less arms and hands, skulls, teeth, skeletons, odd bones and a bunch of clowns, including the massive Evil Clown with footlong teeth. Says Mattesi: “All the other clowns have to keep feeding him body parts.”

Every year, people honk and wave, flash a thumbs up, or scream like banshees as they come off Molino, a funnel for hordes from Mount Tam and the beaches, as well as neighbors who live up the hill.

A few years back, Mattesi injured her knee and couldn’t create her display. She apologized on social media. Neighbors didn’t waste a second: “Would you like help putting them up?” “I’d help too. Have appreciated our Halloween fun since we’ve lived here … ” Her teenage daughter jumped in and saved the holiday.

That year, the mayor of Mill Valley left a business card with a note in Mattesi’s mailbox: “Thank you for bringing Halloween back to Mill Valley.”

Yes, they can

One day last week, a wayward bird made its way into Scott Snyder’s Tam Valley stovepipe chimney. Snyder and his wife could hear the hapless flapping.

First, they called a chimney sweep. “They said they didn’t deal with critters,” says Snyder, a data engineer, voice actor and critter lover. Then Marin Humane, which sent out someone to look. “They thought it might be an owl.” The group transports creatures, but doesn’t dislodge them from stovepipes. So Snyder called WildCare. But they only receive and treat. They don’t dislodge or transport.

Snyder asked neighbors for suggestions. Several offered help. One suggested Southern Marin Fire District, which covers Tam Valley. “It had just rained the night before,” says Snyder, “so I didn’t feel so bad.”

Within a couple of hours, a team of three showed up. They climbed up the steep Snyder roof. Removed the top of the stovepipe. Lowered a rope down the chimney. The bird clawed up the rope, about half way. Then it took flight. It wasn’t an owl. “Probably a scrub jay.”

Neighbors cheered on social media. “What a happy ending! … Cats in trees, birds in chimneys, our Southern Marin Firefighters can do it all!”

Yes, they can.

And did.

Signs of optimism

Says the sign on wall of Two Neat, a long-time funky art-and-dog-centric gift shop downtown: “Unattended children will be given an espresso & a free puppy.”

One Friday afternoon, a posse of middle-school boys came in and told shop owner Bob Bijou: “We’re unattended 12-year-olds. Can we have our free puppy?” Bijou gave them each a free piece of 10-cent taffy instead. The kids gobbled it down. Before long, regular Mill Valley Fridays became Free-taffy Friday, for the original gang of “unattended” and their friends. Even when the taffy’s not free, says Bijou, it’s a bargain. “Where else in Mill Valley can you get something for 10 cents?”

Notable signs abound:

• At the organic produce stand, corner of Shoreline Highway and Tennessee Valley Road, a roadside sign: “Peace, Love, and Pickles.”

• On the chalkboard sign at the Book Depot & Café: “What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookshop. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not fooling a soul.” (From Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods.”)

Befriend the parks

At the Sweetwater Music Hall next Thursday night, Nov. 2, 6:30 to 11 p.m., there’s a fundraiser for Friends of Parks and Recreation. Tickets, at $100, include wine, beer, appetizers and rock music by Mustache Harbor. Sponsors include the Mill Valley Soccer Club and the Southern Marin Lacrosse Club.

Beneficiaries include the new city skate park-in-the-planning, an effort of, by, and for a savvy group of Mill Valley middle-schoolers.

So have a good-hearted Mill Valley day.

The post Smug and grumpy Mill Valley? Look once more – Marin Impartial Journal appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

August 31, 2023

Hospitality staffing platform Qwick has been sued by the city of San Francisco, which claims the company misclassifies its workers as independent contractors.

Qwick is “a staffing company with an app that is in flagrant violation of labor and employment laws business model,” City Attorney David Chiu said in a press release. “It uses convenience and flexibility to mask its decision to deny workers their rights.”

Qwick matches restaurants and event production companies with contingent workers to fill empty shifts, according to the city attorney’s office. The company provides front- and back-of-house workers — including servers, bartenders, dishwashers, cooks and event staff.

San Francisco’s city attorney says it’s legal for staffing firms to supply those workers on a W-2 basis, but Qwick provides them as independent contractors.

Qwick’s workers operate alongside hotels’ and restaurants’ own employees, according to the city attorney’s office. The company refers to its workers as freelancers and independent contractors, but they are “employees by every legal standard” since Qwick interviews them, monitors their performance, controls their eligible shifts and terminates them if they perform badly, the attorney’s office said. The city added that Qwick pays its workers directly and they are forbidden from seeking employment at Qwick’s client business where they perform work.

Qwick has been contacted for comment by Staffing Industry Analysts.

“If this illegal business model is allowed to take hold, hundreds of thousands of positions in the food and beverage industry risk illegal misclassification, and hospitality workers will be pushed into poverty,” Chiu said.

Litigation over independent contractor classification is also taking place against Uber and Lyft, according to the office.

The post San Francisco sues Qwick alleging impartial contractor misclassification appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Consultants less valuable than polling residents

For the last few years, Marin County has continually spent large sums of money hiring housing consultants.

These consultants usually come to Marin from other parts of the country. I suspect most really know nothing about our unique lifestyle. Thus, we ultimately end up with a lot of housing element babble and no real solutions. I find some of their information to be so far-fetched, it’s laughable.

My suggestion would be to ask Marin’s residents directly as to what they are facing as homeowners and renters in regard to their income, expenses, mortgages, leases, rents and their rights. That invaluable information would be a lot cheaper to collect than hiring another consultant.

— Sandra Macleod White, San Rafael

Novato’s empty buildings can become more useful

The recent article on Novato’s vacant buildings (“Novato to weigh ideas for abating vacant, blighted buildings,” July 19) is a timely summary of the problem.

This is a worldwide issue. It is especially troubling in San Francisco. What is needed is a combination of relaxed building code and occupancy permitting so live/work and multiple uses can form congregate situations.

This is not new. While “cohousing” is succeeding in a number of California locations, some European cities are producing environments where families and individuals, including elderly, can create a community that is economical, stable, friendly and supportive.

Using organizations like Habitat for Humanity, “sweat equity” projects can save older structures, reducing the cost of rehab. This reduces the amount of construction waste that goes into landfill.

In San Francisco during the 1970s, artists swamped commercial building vacancies. They reshaped these buildings as live/work opportunities. San Francisco’s city planning and inspection offices became aware of the dangers to health and safety at the same time they realized it was a solution to the mass vacancies.

Art groups worked to create new guidelines to address dangerous potential conditions. This avoided disasters like the terrible 2016 Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, where officials appeared to simply ignore the developing situation.

The new guidelines allowed owners to rent buildings to artists and craftspeople that would otherwise be unused spaces, allowing each artist to create the space and utility (electrical/plumbing) infrastructure.

Costs were low and inspections maintained safety. Unfortunately, this created a “loft” living movement where architects, lawyers and other professions competed for the spaces, driving up prices by the 1990s.

— Niccolo Caldararo, Fairfax

Novato City Council is only standing in the way

I am writing in regard to the article published July 19 with the headline, “Novato to weigh ideas for abating vacant, blighted buildings.”

From my perspective, it appears these properties are vacant because the Novato City Council is in the way of a buyer and seller getting together. This has been the case for a long time.

In the history of our country, there is no reason why the owner of private property needs the OK of the government, local or otherwise, to do a transaction. Otherwise, property rights have no meaning.

The IJ’s recent editorial (“It’s time Novato addressed issue of long building vacancies,” July 30) implies that the City Council should take its time to make long-overdue decisions about matters the council is inept to deal with. I totally disagree. Doing so will only ensure that transactions do not occur in the natural flow of buyers and sellers operating in their own best interest.

The council should have no say in all this. I believe in the foundational axiom that the more government gets involved in a matter the more it gets the matter fouled up. I dare anyone to challenge that assertion.

Simple capitalism has been solving situations like this for over 233 years. If it didn’t, we would be like a lot of other countries — eternally stuck in a morass.

While time is being frittered away by the Novato City Council, other communities are outgrowing Novato readily. The City Council’s range of authority should be substantially reduced.

— Roland Underhill, Novato

Schools should look into Linux computers

I am writing in regard to the article published July 25 with the headline, “Marin schools face expirations of COVID-era Chromebooks.”

It’s a pity schools in the state, or perhaps even across the country, can’t get together and each contribute a small amount to the Linux operating system community to provide money to encourage the development of open-source software meeting their students’ needs.

Computers can last many years with a Linux OS — there are still perfectly good Linux systems that run on older, less powerful machines that have been around for many years.

— Edward Clapp, Corte Madera

San Quentin should be closed immediately

After closely reading the Marin IJ recently, I feel prepared to critique Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to turn San Quentin State Prison into a Scandinavian model favoring rehabilitation over punishment.

First, on July 27 the IJ picked up an article by the Los Angeles Times headlined “Newsom’s signature move: Jam the Legislature.” It pointed out his disputed strategy of ramming his major policy programs through. The author stated that Newsom “has a penchant for publicly manufacturing a sense of urgency and giving lawmakers as little time as possible to act.”

The next day, the headline on another LA Times article in the IJ read, “Newsom’s San Quentin plan advances despite questions.” This $380 million plan is a perfect example of the above strategy. His lack of information is particularly alarming to most, as is the rushed timeline and high cost.

Doubling down on rehabilitation-based incarceration might have merits, but why do this at San Quentin? According to the article, the program is mostly focused on inmates with shorter sentences because they will be released sooner. But San Quentin, a male-only prison, has a high percentage of “lifers.” Why not try this experiment with female inmates too?

The state wants to close several prisons. Why not close the oldest, most expensive one to operate in the highest cost of living area for its staff? Prisons should be in small markets where an influx of revenue is needed, and housing costs are moderate.

This property should be turned into a state-of-the-art transportation hub with retail, commercial, and residential buildings, plus parks. The ferry terminal should move there.

This would shorten the commute to San Francisco and would eliminate the agonizingly slow boat speeds between Larkspur Landing and San Quentin (mandated to minimize wave action in the shallow bay).

— John Neuenburg, San Rafael

Ballot transparency measure must go further

It is good to read about the discussion the state has created by requiring the naming of top supporters of ballot measures (“Marin County opts out of law aimed at ballot transparency,” July 23). However, I believe that all tax ballot measures should at least also include the total local, state and federal tax burdens for taxpayers, in addition to the additions each measure adds to that burden.

Ballot measures for raising or continuing taxes should also include a comprehensive list of future anticipated tax measures and their anticipated tax burdens, so that the public has a complete context upon which to base a more fully informed vote.

Local authorities could require these ballot enhancements, but the state needs to step up and get the process begun, the sooner the better.

— Randall Knox, San Rafael

The post Marin IJ Readers’ Discussion board for Aug. 5, 2023 – Marin Unbiased Journal appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Golden Gate Village in Marin City. (Robert Tong/Marin Independent Journal)

A recent sewage spill in a Marin City apartment was enough to show that Golden Gate Village residents should be able to rely on response from county environmental health officers.

Over the past decade, oversight of such matters had to go to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a giant bureaucracy with offices in San Francisco.

The Marin Housing Authority, which manages and governs Golden Gate Village and other public housing in Marin, opted out for HUD to review health-related inspections.

The recent spill prompted a change back.

It makes sense, in terms of the promise of a fast and local response to any problems or complaints and independent oversight to make sure they’ve been remediated properly.

The housing authority says the sewage backup occurred because a tenant had flushed paper towels down a toilet and caused a blockage. The authority called in a plumbing contractor and the line was cleared.

Clean-up and sanitation crews were also called in.

The incident is one of the reasons the authority is replacing sewer pipes as part of the rehabilitation plan for the 60-year-old public housing complex.

Golden Gate Village, with nearly 300 apartments, is the largest and oldest low-rent public housing complex in the county.

The county’s involvement will be to provide oversight of the authority-hired contractor that is the front line when it comes to handling those inspections.

HUD, which funds the public housing, also performs its own inspections.

County and authority officials say that it is unclear why the authority shifted primary oversight to HUD. It may have been because it seemed bureaucratically redundant.

In recent years, the county and the Golden Gate Village Residents Council have had a rocky relationship, with the council filing complaints about rat problems, mold and wiring problems. The council also advanced its own proposal for a multi-million dollar overhaul of the complex, including creating a trust that would enable tenants to own their units.

The primary objective of shifting inspection oversight should be that public housing residents receive the same level of public-health inspection response as anyone else in the county.

If those inspectors come up with a finding with which the housing authority disagrees, that’s part of the process. Protecting the health of the tenants should be the overriding  focus.

The shift to HUD long predates the arrival of Sarah Jones, who took over as head of the county Community Development Agency in April. The county Environmental Health Division is part of her agency.

She told the IJ that the county and the housing authority decided to put the county back in charge of supervisor inspections to add an “extra layer of accountability and objectivity” in the performance of that important job.

It’s the right thing to do.

It is a responsive action and strategy that set a strong standard for local protection of public housing conditions and its tenants in Marin, today and as the authority moves forward with its plans to renovate and repair the Golden Gate Village complex.

The post Taking again oversight of health-related inspections at Golden Gate Village is true for Marin – Marin Unbiased Journal appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Many ways to help kids through difficult spots

I am writing in regard to the editorial by the IJ article concerning the partnership between the Point Reyes Seashore Association and Camp Avary for children with incarcerated parents (“Camp’s Pt. Reyes partnership a winning connection for underserved group,” July 27).

Camp Avary, like the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program, gives kids hope and a way to cope day to day, other than staring at the internet. As a 10-year “big brother” whose “little brother” was going through many of the same things I did growing up, I shared some of the healthy activities I used to cope with it all when I was growing up. Our Saturday get-togethers involved fishing the lakes (Bon Tempe or Laganitas) or taking in a ball game.

I entered the program as a person wondering whether I would have the stuff it takes to be a parent. After one year of our match, I knew that I could bring something to the parenting table. My “little brother” would later become godfather to my son.

Although he did not graduate college, my “little brother” did become a Renaissance man by learning the plumbing and butcher trades. Given his language skills, he also did well in his work on the suicide prevention hot line.

If you can spare the time to be a big brother or sister, it is well worth the effort.

— Rick Johnson, Novato

Don’t allow one person to impact traffic for all

I am writing to express my concern of the events of July 21 and 22, with respect to the closure of the eastbound lanes of Richmond-San Rafael Bridge during one person’s mental health crisis (“CHP: Safety concerns necessitated Richmond-San Rafael Bridge closure,” July 25).

I would implore our leaders to please review and come up with a more expedient plan for future incidents. I am very surprised that there has not been a greater uproar over this situation.

It is unacceptable that one individual could disrupt thousands of commuters throughout Marin, Sonoma, Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties. I would expect that all of you must share this concern and frustration.

I have been worried about dedicating the third lane on the westbound upper deck of the bridge to bikes and pedestrians. With only two lanes open to vehicles, any hiccup results in stopped traffic. Now it is a concern that one disturbed individual can access the bridge and completely block it for many hours. People were stuck for hours with no food, no water and no facilities — all on an afternoon with air quality so poor it was designated as a “Spare the Air” day. Cars were in danger of running out of gas or having their electric battery run out. People in poor health could have become ill.

This all happened because of one person. Certainly there had to be steps that could have been taken to remove this individual quicker. Accommodating these people is not in the interest of the greater good.

— Kim Sandholdt, San Rafael

Put focus back on using public transportation

Why am I reading reports that Bay Area transit agencies are running out of money, yet the traffic jams on Highway 101 are back to pre-pandemic levels? Nowadays, many people in our area are working at home either most or some of the time. When considering the cause of these related observations, I can only deduce that former transit riders must now be driving.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 29% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by transportation. To help address this locally, I think Marin County officials have done a wonderful job gathering information and providing rebates to encourage emissions reduction.

Let’s not forget about the opportunity public transit provides to shrink our carbon footprints.

— Karen Andresen, Novato

Too many off-leash dog parks across Marin

Judy Spelman’s recently published letter to the editor suggests that a beach in Tomales Bay State Park (Millerton Point) should be opened up to off-leash dog recreation, adding that she hopes to garner letters of support for her initiative.

In opposition, I write in support of the regulations that Spelman seeks to have removed. I don’t find her argument that “managing a leashed dog can lead to human falls (and) limits freedom to focus on nature” to be persuasive. People at risk of falls caused by walking with a leashed dog can avoid injury by recreating in a less challenging environment, or by recreating without their dog. Additionally, I would say that, because dogs are domesticated pets and are not part of nature, walking without a dog (leashed or unleashed) is the best way to “focus on nature.”

Aside from chasing, maiming or killing wildlife, dogs also generate waste that can spread diseases to wildlife (and people). The Environmental Protection Agency says dog waste contains hazardous pollutants. Given that dog waste can foul nearby water bodies with pathogens, it is sensible to conclude that dogs should not be allowed on any beaches, whether leashed or unleashed.

Spelman’s group seeks to remove leashing regulations at one beach, but she ends her letter with the hope that “other parks will follow our lead.” In opposition, I will end my letter with the hope that Spelman’s efforts fail, and that future attempts to rewrite sensible regulations pertaining to dogs in county, state and federal parks are ignored. Far too many public outdoor spaces in Marin have been converted into dog parks (aka “dog toilets”) to the detriment of wildlife, the environment and public safety.

— Byron Wilson, Kentfield

Supreme Court correct to flip affirmative action

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court correctly ruled that race-based preferences (aka “affirmative action”) are illegal in direct contradiction of our Constitution and civil rights laws.

In her recently published Marin Voice commentary (“North Bay Leadership Council CEO responds to affirmative action ruling,” July 15), Cynthia Murray disagrees and is seeking a workaround under the banner of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). She lauds the virtues of a “diverse” workforce without citing specific examples.

Murray is far from alone. Despite scant evidence, it appears to me that nearly all politically liberal people agree that “diversity” is more important than a merit-based system.

Some, including President Joe Biden, appear to not only look to flout the Supreme Court’s ruling, they support packing the court with additional justices who are like-minded.

We should demand a higher burden of proof for a policy that I am convinced goes completely against the principles of equality under the law and a color-blind society.

— Michael Hartnett, Greenbrae

Understandable fear of police leads to injuries

My first time as a juror was in the 1980s in Honolulu. The defendant was a young man who led police on a high-speed chase. His defense was that he was afraid the police would beat him up if he stopped. When he did stop, it appeared to everyone that the police did just that. Our jury voted unanimously to acquit. I was reminded of this seeing the horrific traffic stop in Ohio (“Black man attacked by Ohio police dog during traffic stop,” June 23).

The 23-year-old man who was driving a semi-truck with a missing mud flap said he was afraid to pull over while being chased by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. When his truck was finally stopped with the help of tire-deflation devices, he exited the truck with his hands raised. On the video posted online, a member of OSHP can be heard telling a Circleville Police Department officer not to release a police dog on the suspect, yet the local officer did anyway.

The young man now faces charges of failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony. Where is the justice in this?

— Kay Noguchi, Terra Linda

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This colorful bedroom for a teenage girl was designed by Eugenia and Emma Jesberg of EJ Interior Design in Tiburon for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase, which runs through May 29th.

The Seacliff neighborhood of San Francisco will host the 44th Decorator Showcase, which runs through May 29 and will feature 23 Bay Area design firms, including three talented ones from Marin.

The stylish transformations take place in a stately three-story Mediterranean-Spanish-style home built in 1927 and overlooking San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands.

Designers have reimagined 28 design rooms that include five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, a game room, a movie room, an elevator, a laundry room and more.

Marin’s participating design firms are Lauren Berry Interior Design and Shelley & Company Interior Design, both from Ross, and EJ Interior Design from Tiburon.

Cooking with sea salt

Lauren Berry (laurenberry.com) founded her interior design company more than 20 years ago and was a previous Showcase attendee.

In Showcase House 2019, she designed an en-suite espresso and cocktail bar, but this time she turned her attention to a larger space, the Sea Salt Kitchen. Her vision was to “create an open, gourmet family kitchen with off-the-shelf appliances that easily converts into a dramatic setting for breakfast and dining rooms,” she says.

Berry’s timeless color palette of warm whites, creams and soft grays was inspired by the California coast, she says.

A calacatta marble waterfall island anchors the elegant kitchen, whose form is referenced 10 feet above by a large LED-lit tray ceiling.

Marble also surrounds the large Hestan range, concealing the hood and sliding to conceal a pair of flat shelves that flank the range.

Photo by Mario Serafin

EJ Interior Design of Tiburon designed the ensuite bathroom in the Decorator Showcase.

Bespoke white oak cabinetry, wall panels and panels above the appliances give the marble a warm, tranquil backdrop.

A built-in sofa, complemented by Holly Hunt wall coverings and local artwork, is a comfortable spot to chat with the chef, check email, or watch the wall-mounted TV

Berry hopes visitors will notice Blisshaus’ “amazing plastic-free pantry organization system and eco-friendly Zip water filtration system that provides cold, hot and sparkling water on demand.”

Bubbling party

Eugenia and Emma Jesberg, the mother-daughter duo of EJ Interior Design (ejinteriordesign.com), a 30-year-old Tiburon-based company, took a vibrant, playful approach to a young girl’s en-suite bedroom, calling it ” Sadie’s Arty Party” and “Bubbly Bash”.

Although this is Eugenia Jesberg’s fourth Decorator Showcase over the years, it is Emma’s first and their first showcase room together.

“It was a lot of work and a lot of fun,” says Emma Jesberg. “Showcase is an opportunity to go big and bold and layer it, design for a dream client, discover new products and also highlight our favorite employees.”

Photo by Paul Dyer

Max’s Magical Playroom was designed by Shelley & Company Interior Design in Ross for the 44th Decorator Showcase.

The bedroom, bathed in wonderful natural light, is the fun setting for Sadie’s arty party, where the Jesbergs wanted a space that would encourage creativity and imagination to accommodate Sadie, their “client,” whom they describe as someone who is “the is party life, loves pink and has a strong imagination,” says Emma Jesberg.

Eugenia Jesberg agrees, and while it may have been designed for a young girl, “we think it may appeal to you whether you’re 6 years old or 66 years old.”

The focal point in the bedroom is a custom made statement bed inspired by the 1980s Memphis movement and designed by EJ Interiors using seven Pierre Frey cotton velvets.

The unexpected ceiling wall covering and window treatments, both in Pierre Frey’s Arty pattern, balance the bed “by creating a playful contrast to the bed’s soft geometry,” says Emma Jesberg.

A custom rug, a vintage desk, a pair of Gary Hutton cube-shaped side tables, artwork and a stuffed animal alpaca are among the curated accessories.

In the adjacent bathroom, designers created Bubbly Bash, where the walls are covered in custom-colored glass mosaic reminiscent of confetti. Floating countertops and shelves, colorful plumbing, and hanging orb lights continue the game’s theme.

“While our bedroom looks quite pink and colorful, the walls are white, further underscoring that this room is Sadie’s ‘blank canvas,'” says Eugenia Jesberg.

Magic playroom

The home’s water heater and wet room were given a major makeover when Shelley Cahan and Sarah Wilson of Shelley & Company Interior Design (shelleyandcompany.com) took over.

There was a water heater, a sink, a brick chimney, closets, washer and dryer hookups, concrete floors, and tons of plumbing and exposed piping, recalls Jenny Bittner Borden, operations manager for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

Photo by Bess Friday

Lauren Berry of Lauren Berry Interior Design in Ross designed this kitchen for the 44th Decorator Showcase.

The design firm “expanded the playroom by tearing down the north wall and creating its own boiler room, leveling the floors and bringing a light and airy feel to the dark and cold space,” she adds. “I think it was very difficult for most to see the potential of this space and Shelley and his team took on that challenge and made it happen.”

Showcase Tips

“Marin readers will love the location,” Borden says, noting the property’s proximity to nearby beaches, the Legion of Honor, and interesting restaurants and bakeries. “Make it a day and have a fun adventure.”

Your insider tips? Look for the “little hidden gems throughout the house, including hidden spice racks in the kitchen, an espresso bar in her office, a wet bar in his office, a backlit marble bar, and a wine cellar.”

She welcomes those who visit the Showcase on Friday nights to enjoy complimentary white wine and al fresco snacks during “Friday Nights at Showcase” from 5-7 p.m

• The 44th Decorator Showcase runs through May 29 at 625 El Camino Del Mar in San Francisco. Closed Mondays except Memorial Day. Hours of operation are from opening to last entry: 10am to 3pm Tuesday to Saturday; Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $40 to $45. Tickets are available online or at the door and can be paid for with Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards or in cash. Call 415-447-5830 or visit decoratorshowcase.org.

More: The tour should last 60 to 90 minutes. Parking is limited and public transportation or ridesharing is recommended. Proceeds benefit the San Francisco University High School financial aid program.

Indicate

If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or newly designed Marin house, I’d love to hear about it.

Please send an email describing one (or both) what you love most about it and a photo or two. I will publish the best ones in the coming columns. Your name will be published and you must be over 18 and a Marin resident.

Even more

• Join the No Mow May or Low Mow Spring movements this month and give yourself, your lawn, bees and other pollinators a break. Visit beecityusa.org for details and a free printable lawn sign.

• Residents of San Anselmo can trade in their (now banned) gas landscapers and apply for a discount on new electrical purchases by visiting the landscaper information page at townofsananselmo.org.

• Master Rosarians Paula Jaffe and Betty Mott share helpful tips for anyone who will be presenting a rose or rose photo at the upcoming Greenbrae Celebration of Roses May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center at 180 Camino Alto in Mill want to submit gorge. Go to marinrose.org.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertainment topics every Saturday. She can be contacted at PO Box 412, Kentfield 94914 or at pj@pjbremier.com.

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RICHMOND — Can you ferry a boat, sling delicious hors d’oeuvres, tidy up bedsheets and make guests feel at home in a five-room inn in the middle of San Pablo Bay?

If so, the picturesque East Brother Light Station may have a job for you.

Applications are open for two new innkeepers to keep the nearly 150-year-old lighthouse up and running for two years, starting in April 2023.

“People who typically apply have been in the hospitality industry and they like working with the public; they’re people who have worked on boats for a long time,” said Tom Butt, Richmond’s outgoing mayor and president of the East Brother Light Station Inc., which runs the lighthouse. “It’s very attractive for those type of people: Boats and lighthouses are like peanut butter and jelly.”

Perched on a rocky mound near Point Molate and visible from the Richmond Bridge, the iconic bed-and-breakfast offers beautiful panoramic views of the San Francisco and San Pablo bays.

In addition to seasonal day visits and special events, visitors on the island can enjoy rented-out rooms inside the goldenrod California Victorian structures — surrounded by miles of shimmering salt water and the occasional harbor seal — Thursday through Sunday for $475 to $525 a night.

While it’s a dream job for some, the role is not an breeze or some cushy, luxury getaway.

“It’s a really cool place, but the one thing the job doesn’t allow you to do is sit around and drink piña coladas while enjoying the view,” Butt said. “It’s hard work.”

Innkeepers must assume the role of maid, boat captain, gift shop attendant, tour guide, host and chef with “high-quality culinary experience” to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner. Applicants who are smokers, live with children or have pets will not be selected.

Additionally, at least one of the innkeepers must have a Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential boat operator’s license, in order to safely ferry guests from the launch at 1900 Stenmark Drive in Richmond to East Brother Island and back.

Two previous innkeepers, Tiffany Danse and Tyler Waterson, estimated they worked at least 80 to 90 hours each week to maintain East Brother Light Station, which is a registered California Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The current innkeepers, Bryan and Stephanie Wesolek, will be leaving after their two-year commitment comes to a close at the end of March.

RICHMOND, CA – JAN. 27: A barge is pushed through the narrows between the East Brothers Light Station and Point San Pablo, part of the coastline of Richmond, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

The newly chosen duo, which does not have to be a romantic couple, will be compensated with a majority portion of the profits of the inn, after the expenses of operation are subtracted. On top of benefits like a health care plan, two weeks of vacation and onsite living quarters on the nearly three-quarters of an acre island, the keepers’ gross pay in 2021-22 was $140,000 split between them.

Butt said there are other perks, too, such as tips and networking opportunities to land future gigs. “You might make me your future employer while working,” he said.

Butt said the staff is supported by volunteers who help out with maintenance of the facilities, such as painting and repair jobs around the grounds. While the $300,000 nonprofit has a list of 300 volunteers, there is a core group of a dozen stewards who work the grounds weekly, Butt said.

And without access to Wi-Fi, reliable cell service and plumbing — aside from a rainwater catchment and cistern system — the job takes the concept of “remote work” to another level.

The nonprofit, which Butt founded, has leased the island from the Coast Guard and run the business, primarily as a means to afford costly repairs and upkeep.

The restored inn was opened in 1980, a few decades after the Coast Guard decommissioned the island’s historic lighthouse keepers in favor of automatic boat beacons.

More information about East Brother Light Station and the innkeeper job can be found at www.ebls.org, and questions may be emailed to EastBrotherLightStationJOBS@gmail.com.

IJ reporter Adrian Rodriguez contributed to this report.

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